…respondents showed approval in 6 major issues

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) - President Benigno S. Aquino III still has the trust and appreciation of the majority of Filipinos, the latest Pulse Asia survey showed.

In its May 2011 survey, the private pollster said 7 out of 10 Filipinos (71%) continue to trust and approve of Aquino, which is virtually unchanged from the last survey in March at 74%.

The survey, done between May 21 and June 4, has a margin of error of plus/minus 3% at the 95% confidence level.

Pulse also noted that only 8% of Filipinos are critical of his performance, while 7% expressed distrust.

About 21% are unable to say if they approve or disapprove, while 21% are ambivalent.

In a statement, Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said: "The latest...numbers reflect wide-ranging support for the administration’s efforts to curb corruption, pursue inclusive growth, and provide basic services to the people. This, despite obvious attempts by the enemies of reform to stoke the fires of negativism. The President is grateful to the people for this vote of confidence, and remains committed to leading them on the straight and righteous path to equitable progress."

The approval rating is mixed in terms of geographic areas. While the numbers ranged from 57% to 79%, a slip can be observed in the actual numbers.

In the National Capital Region, for example, approval rating dropped to 57% from 66% in March. The biggest drop was seen in the Visayas, which went down to 68% from 83%.

In terms of socioeconomic groupings, Aquino has the trust of 63% of the class ABC, 70% of class D, and 77% of class E.

Compared to March figures, however, the approval rating of class ABC slipped by 6 percentage points.

Taken as a whole, Filipinos also think the administration has done well on 6 issues: fighting criminality (60%), enforcing the law equally on all Filipinos (57%), improving the national peace situation (57%), fighting corruption in government (56%), creating more jobs (53%) and increasing workers’ pay (51%).

Aquino also posted plurality approval ratings in protecting the environment (50%), strengthening public trust in the government and its officials (49%) and controlling population growth (48%).

On poverty reduction, on the other hand, the public was divided. Around 40% approved while 39% expressed indecision.

Filipinos, however, note that the government has done poorly in terms of curbing inflation. Only 39% expressed approval, 29% disapproved and 32% is ambivalent.